April 23, 2019 Tuesday Night SmackDown
The April 23, 2019 Edition of Smackdown Live is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's Smackdown brand, which took place on April 23, 2019 at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. Episode summary Finn Bálor vs Andrade Looking for redemption after Andrade defeated him on night one of the Superstar Shake-up, Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor came correct for the rematch this week on SmackDown LIVE. The Extraordinary Man brought the heat from jump street, not faltering too heavily, despite Andrade’s explosive attack and his determination to start taking down the WWE Universe’s heroes. In the clutch, Andrade seemed to be closing in on another victory when he drilled Finn with the Running Double Knees in the corner, but the Intercontinental Champion refused to stay down. Zelina Vega attempted to take out Finn with a crossbody late in the match, but Andrade was forced to catch his business manager out of the air when Finn sidestepped her. The Intercontinental Champion took advantage of the opening, dropkicking his opponent into the corner and following up with the Coup De Grace to seal an impressive victory and even the score with Andrade. Kairi Sane vs Peyton Royce With Paige introducing the blockbuster tag team of Asuka & Kairi Sane on SmackDown LIVE last week, the tandem looked to take its first step toward a WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles Match against The IIconics, as Sane took on Peyton Royce in her first singles match since arriving on Team Blue. As usual, The IIconics used their pre-match stroll to the ring to slander their upcoming opponents, but Royce seemingly underestimated the blue brand newcomer. The inaugural Mae Young Classic winner hit the ground running and never took her foot off the gas, finishing Peyton off with the awe-inspiring Insane Elbow. Sane, Asuka and Paige soon saw their celebration cut short, though, as Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville appeared at the top of the entrance ramp to stare down the trio. The tense confrontation came shortly after Fire & Desire approached Paige in the backstage are and told her that her “experiment” with Kairi and Asuka would fail and that she would come crawling back to Absolution … but not tonight she wouldn’t. Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair came face to face for the first time since WrestleMania Coming face to face for the first time since they clashed in the main event of WrestleMania 35, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair met in the middle of the ring. Flair’s message for Becky Two Belts was simple: Becky cannot truly call herself a champion until she pins The Queen. Becky retorted, saying that she’s defeated Charlotte more times than she can keep track of and wants new challengers. Bayley soon hit the scene, cutting the debate short and vouching to get the next title opportunity after Lacey Evans challenges Lynch at WWE Money in the Bank. Flair tried to patronize Bayley, who squared right up to The Queen. An intently focused Bayley suggested that Bayley and Charlotte face off right now to determine who would get the future title opportunity. Bayley vs Charlotte Flair With adrenaline pumping on both sides of the ring after their heated exchange from moments prior, Bayley and Charlotte Flair squared off with a future SmackDown Women’s Championship opportunity on the line. The two longtime rivals engaged in a fierce bout, and a fearless Bayley brought the fight to The Queen. Charlotte meticulously targeted Bayley’s knees, grounding her foe and applying constant pressure. Bayley fought back by absolutely unloading on Charlotte while fighting through immense pain in her knees. The Huggable One seemed to have victory within her grasp when she hit an incredible sunset flip that had Charlotte reeling. However, The Queen survived that and everything else, and she recovered to finish Bayley off with a massive Spear. After the match, Lynch boldly declared backstage that she will defend both her titles at WWE Money in the Bank, putting her Raw Women’s Title on the line against Lacey Evans and taking on Flair in another high-stakes bout for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Kofi Kingston vs Shinsuke Nakamura It seemed like everything was great in New Day land, with WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and honorary member Kevin Owens (or “Big O,” if you prefer) seemingly getting along great … but, clearly, The Power of Positivity can be misleadingly blinding. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston squared off against Shinsuke Nakamura for the first time ever, as honorary New Day member Owens and Woods provided unique commentary from The New Day’s specialized announce booth, and Rusev and Lana backed up Nakamura. Nakamura attempted to wear down the WWE Champion with his signature hard-hitting attack, but Kofi fought back with a string of several high-impact moves that appeared to have him on the verge of victory. Before Kingston could secure a pinfall, however, Rusev jumped on the WWE Champion to cause the disqualification, leading to a wild post-match brawl. Owens and Woods teamed up to take out Rusev, but Nakamura dropped Woods with the Kinshasa. And after Kofi cleared The King of Strong Style from the ring, Owens shockingly leveled Kofi with a wicked superkick before beginning a vicious assault. “Big O” chucked Kofi into the barricade and ring post, grabbed the WWE Title and began screaming at Kingston that he hoped the WWE Champion and his kids enjoyed WrestleMania because the title would soon be his. Kingston attempted to fight back with a few desperation punches, but the damage had already been done. Owens attempted to set Kingston up for the Apron Powerbomb on the edge of the ring, but Woods interjected and briefly took KO down. Owens soon got the best of already weakened Woods, finally taking him out with a vicious Apron Powerbomb. Woods was down, Kingston was furious while tending to his brother and Owens had made his statement: It’s a new day for KO … and the plans for that day only include winning the WWE Championship. Results * Singles Match: Finn Bálor defeated Andrade (w/ Zelina Vega) * Singles Match: Kairi Sane (w/ Asuka & Paige) defeated Peyton Royce (w/ Billie Kay) * WWE SmackDown Women's Title #1 Contendership Match: Charlotte Flair defeated Bayley * Singles Match: Kofi Kingston (w/ Kevin Owens & Xavier Woods) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (w/ Lana & Rusev) by DQ Other on-screen talent * Interviewer: Kayla Braxton Draft selection Media Category:2019 television episodes Category:SmackDown episodes Category:Asuka Category:Bayley Category:Episodes featuring Becky Lynch Category:Billie Kay Category:Charlotte Category:Kairi Sane Category:Episodes featuring Kayla Braxton Category:Episodes featuring Lana Category:Mandy Rose Category:Episodes featuring Paige Category:Peyton Royce Category:Sonya Deville Category:Zelina Vega Category:WWE television episodes